


From small beginnings

by icestar663



Category: EOS 10 (Podcast)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, M/M, Yeah I gave Ryan and Akmazian a baby, let's see how badly this goes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-07-26 23:31:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7594633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icestar663/pseuds/icestar663
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of all the things Ryan expected Akmazian to return home with after a mission away, a baby was definitely not one of them.<br/>But whoever said being a father could be easy? Certainly not the guy who shares his rooms with an alleged terrorist, a large cat and several dangerous species of flora.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So people at work were talking about babies a lot and my brain is 90% Rymazian most of the time.  
> How could I resist

Akmazian crept into Ryan's room, making sure not to trip over Morpheus as he made his way over to the bed, a small bundle wrapped in blankets in his arms. “Ry?” He said softly, “Ry, I'm back.” When Ryan didn't wake up, he tried again. “Ryan. Wake up, I'm back.”

“Sleeping... you don't usually want to wake me up when you're home...” Ryan mumbled, curling up on his side.

“I know. But I've got somethin' and... and this can't wait, darlin'.” Akmazian said.

“Fine. Fine, I'm awake...” Ryan rolled onto his back and stretched, turning the lights onto their lowest setting before opening his eyes. He blinked sleepily at Akmazian, his hair tousled and his deep brown eyes soft and confused. “It better be worth you waking me up at whatever time it is when I was on a late shift tonight.”

Akmazian nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed and shifting the small bundle in his arms, “This little guy was abandoned by his momma. An' I couldn't just leave him there...”

Ryan stared down at the tiny baby in his boyfriend's arms, taking in its humanoid but clearly not human appearance. “Please... please tell me that you haven't brought a baby onto the station.”

“I couldn't leave him behind. He was cryin' and only stopped when I picked him up. I couldn't do it, Ry. I know it'll be hard but...” Akmazian looked at him pleadingly.

“Akmazian, we can't... you must know we can't.” Ryan hated the hurt in his eyes at the words. “Your life is dangerous. I have a high stress job, we're trying to prove your innocence, I've got Morpheus to look after and I still have that damn carnivorous plant that Levi gave me. This isn't the right time for us to be taking on a baby.”

“It's not something I thought much about before... but it feels right, Ry. Please can we try?”

“We can't. We can't bring up a kid when one of his dads is always at work and his other dad is supposed to be in hiding. He'd never see us. It isn't fair on him to bring him up like this.”

“We could work it out. We're so close Ry, I won't have to hide for that much longer. It's not like we'd be the first couple to have a kid on top of their current lives.”

“Akmazian...” Ryan started.

“-What would you do with him? If you're not going to give him a chance, what will happen to him?”

Ryan swallowed, “There's a ward in the infirmary for babies who for whatever reason don't have parents. I'll take him there. I want a family with you. I just don't know if we can do it now.”

“Then you better take him now darlin' cause I-” Akmazian looked away, his voice choked up with emotion. Without meeting Ryan's eyes he carefully handed over the baby.

“I'm sorry, Ak...” Ryan said quietly, standing up and moving towards the door, glad he'd put pants on before going to bed for once.

His mind was racing as he padded through the quiet corridors towards the infirmary. He knew that it was a really bad idea to keep the baby but the hurt in Akmazian's eyes at giving him up broke Ryan's heart. Despite himself he was already starting to list in his head the things that they could do to make being parents easier on both them and the kid. He shook his head slightly to clear it. In his arms the baby snuffled, snoring softly. A gentle sound somewhere between a cat's purr and a gentle cooing. Ryan looked down at him and sighed, “You're going to cause me a lot of trouble.” He said softly. He kept walking to the infirmary, looking around as the door slid open.

“Dr Dalias, I am fairly sure your shift finished two hours ago,” Dr Urvidian said, looking up from the book he was reading while the infirmary was quiet. “So what can I do for you?”

Ryan took a deep breath, “Robin Hood brought a baby home with him. I need to know how old it is, what species and how to look after it.”

Urvidian stared, “I'm sorry, you lost me at 'baby'. Why in god's name did he bring a baby?”

“He says it was abandoned. That he couldn't just leave it behind. I have no idea what I'm doing.”

“Why not just place the child on the lost children's ward and be done with it?” Urvidian asked.

“That... was the plan. Except...” Ryan hesitated.

“Except in the very short time you've been with it, you've grown attached. And it's clear that Robin Hood has done also.” Urvidian sighed, “It's going to be a lot of hard work for the pair of you.”

“I know. I know and logically I know that giving him up so that another family can adopt him is the best move but-”

“But love doesn't tend to think logically. And you have already fallen in love with the child.” Urvidian said it so simply.

“He is cute,” Ryan said, “And seeing how much it hurt Akmazian to give him up... Ak was heading to a sector at least two days journey from here. He's had the kid with him for two days already, just taking him away now...”

“You're going through all the reasons but in your heart you already know what you're going to do. Pass me the child and I will run full diagnostics for you and find the parental help guides you're going to need. Officially you will be the sole parent, therefore there's paperwork to be done but between us we can run though that tomorrow. Return to your quarters, Ryan. You and your boyfriend have a lot of planning to do.”

Ryan carefully handed the still sleeping baby over to Urvidian, looking up in concern, “Will he be alright?”

Urvidian gave him a rare smile, “I'll make sure of it. Now. You look dead on your feet. Back to your quarters and get some rest. I'll make sure that Nurse Johns is aware you'll be visiting the child in the morning.”

“Thank you.” Ryan said softly, yawning and running a hand through his hair, “Goodnight, Dr Urvidian.”

“Goodnight, Dr Dalias.” Urvidian replied. “Off you go.”

 

When Ryan returned to his quarters the lights were still on low and Akmazian was curled up in bed with his back to the door, his pile of clothes stacked neatly on the desk.

Ryan slipped back into bed and turned off the light, wrapping his arms around Akmazian and planting a soft kiss on the back of his neck.

“I'm not in the mood, darlin'.” Akmazian mumbled, his voice thick like he'd been crying.

“I'll start the paperwork tomorrow,” Ryan replied, “I'm going to have to register as a single parent though.”

Akmazian froze, “I- what?”

“Logically I know giving him up is the right thing to do. But when I look at that child I want to protect him. And I know how hard it must have been for you to bring him back here. So... let's do it.”

Akmazian shifted round so that they were face to face, “We're going to be parents?” His voice was full of such a tender hopefulness that Ryan couldn't help but grin and place a small kiss on the tip of his nose.

“Yeah. We're going to be parents.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

A feeling of deep contentment settled over Ryan as he started to wake up and felt the warm weight of Akmazian in his arms. He loved waking up with his boyfriend beside him, though it was something that had happened less and less recently. He had learnt to savour the rare occasions when they were together.

He looked down at Akmazian and sighed softly, taking in the dark shadows under his eyes and the blood the matted his long hair. All things considered, it could be a lot worse. The Silent Storm wasn't very well equipped for longer journeys. The showers had finally packed up and there was an ominous rattling in the engine bay they'd yet to discover the source of. Akmazian had a lot of skills in mechanics and engineering so Ryan had no doubts that the ship would stay together and working. However plumbing was not one of his fortes. And Ryan had given up insisting on his exhausted boyfriend showering before being allowed to climb into bed with him.

“Please tell me it wasn't a dream, darlin',” Akmazian murmured, his eyes still closed.

“Which part?” Ryan asked, lightly playing with his hair, “You need a shower.”

“The part where I brought a baby home and you agreed we could keep him.” Akmazian's golden eyes flickered open and he blinked up at Ryan.

“Oh that.” Ryan smiled at him, “Not a dream. I'll sneak you in to see him later. After you've showered.”

Akmazian grinned softly, “Can't we go now? Please?”

Ryan shook his head, “I need to feed Morpheus, feed Audrey and change the bed sheets. And you need to wash the blood out of your hair. Is it yours?”

Akmazian pouted, “Glancing blow. And about a week ago so I'm definitely fine.” He played his fingers lazily down Ryan's spine, lingering on the scars near the bottom of his back. He still had nightmares about seeing his lover paralysed and bleeding out in front of him.

“Stop thinking so hard,” Ryan murmured, kissing Akmazian between the eyes. “We've got each other and our future to think about. That's what matters.”

“I know. I do know that darlin' but...”

“It wasn't your fault. And you need to stop thinking that it was. We can't move on with our lives until you come to terms with it and learn to forgive yourself. I'm still here and I still love you. And our lives are about to get a hell of a lot more chaotic. Now go shower so we can go and see our son.”

“Our son,” Akmazian repeated softly, kissing Ryan's shoulder before rolling out of bed and heading to the shower.

 

An hour later they walked hand in hand into the ward in the infirmary where unwanted or orphaned babies were taken care of until social services could take them.

“Hey Jane,” Ryan waved his friend over.

“Is it true?” Jane asked, looking between them, “Dr Urvidian said you two were going to adopt a kid. And I mean you're here so it seems likely but-”

“Jane,” Ryan interrupted, “Can we just please see the baby I brought in last night?”

“Sure.” Jane led them over to one of the higher dependency incubators, “He's hugely underweight and undersized. But he should make a good recovery.”

If Jane kept talking – and she probably did – Ryan didn't hear another word, all his attention on the tiny baby in the incubator. The small child had dark blue skin, purple markings and was covered in short dark fur. As they watched, the baby opened huge golden eyes and looked up at them. He gurgled and reached out one tiny hand towards Akmazian.

“May I?” Akmazian asked, gesturing towards the incubator.

“Be my guest.” Jane smiled.

Akmazian moved closer, carefully reaching through the narrow gap in the side of the incubator and gently stroking the young boy's cheek. “He's so beautiful,” he murmured, looking up at Ryan, his eyes shining.

Ryan put an arm around Akmazian's shoulders and turned to Jane, “Dr Urvidian said he would leave all the paperwork for me. Can you get it?” Once Jane had moved away he hugged Akmazian closer, “I can't believe we're doing this.”

“Any second thoughts?”

Ryan grinned, watching the baby fall asleep again, “I thought I would but... no. He needs a name.”

“Any ideas?” Akmazian asked, still very gently stroking the baby's cheek.

“You know him better than I do. You must have some ideas? How did you even take care of him on the way back?” Ryan kissed the top of Akmazian's head.

“With difficulty.” Akmazian pulled a face and smiled, “I've gone through a lot of names but...” He hesitated.

“What did you call him?”

Akmazian watched as the baby shifted in his sleep and started to make a gentle purring noise, “Allezander.” He said softly. “But if you don't like it-”

“It suits him.” Ryan interrupted, grinning.

“I love you, Ryan.”

Ryan smiled, wrapping his arms around Akmazian and softly kissing his shoulder, “I love you too. Though honestly, I was going to wait until after we'd cleared your name before suggesting kids.”

“Ryan?” Jane's voice interrupted whatever Akmazian was going to say, “I've got the folder of papers.”

“Shit.” Ryan sighed, glancing towards Jane, “That's a lot of paperwork.”

“Yeah, I mean who knew there are a load of forms to fill in when you decide to adopt a kid totally out of the blue,” Jane replied flippantly, “There are also forms to apply to the Quartermaster for family quarters. So good luck with that.”

Ryan groaned and hid his face in the back of Akmazian's neck, “I am not looking forward to that conversation. I still don't understand why they hate me so much.”

“Oh come on Ry, your kid is adorable. They can't exactly say no!” Jane grinned, “Oh also I've got an information pack for you about caring for Nepeta babies. Is it like, waaaay too soon for you guys to have a name for him?”

Ryan looked at Akmazian and grinned, “Allezander. His name is Allezander.”

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

Ryan lay on the new double bed, his eyes closed as he thought about how far they'd come in such a short space of time. It had taken months of very little sleep but finally everything was ready. He'd moved everything he owned into the family quarters he had begged (and only a little bit threatened) the Quartermaster to give him. The smaller bedroom was set up with a crib as well as everything and anything he thought that Allezander might need.

Tomorrow he would be able to bring him son home and Akmazian was due back to the station any day now. If they could just prove Akmazian's innocence then everything would be just about perfect.

The side of the bed sank slightly under new weight and the soft purring let Ryan known that Morpheus had joined him without having to open his eyes. The cat had been a major point of contention between Ryan and several of the social workers but in the end they had come to a compromise. Ryan could keep the cat as long as Morpheus wasn't left alone with Allezander. And as Ryan wasn't planning on letting the huge grey cat be unattended with his tiny son anyway, it wasn't exactly a difficult choice to make.

Morpheus purred happily and curled up next to Ryan, his purr deepening further as Ryan reached out to scratch him behind the ears. Tomorrow everything would change. Ryan was excited but couldn't hold off the nerves. If something went wrong it would be up to him to deal with it. Juggling a new baby, a large cat and a full time and very demanding job wasn't the ideal situation for a single parent but he hoped that Akmazian would be around more often now. His boyfriend had done his best to help with the preparations but there wasn't a lot he could do other than fetching things and finding a new home for Audrey One, who now lived in Levi's quarters. Ryan had been oddly sad to see the carnivorous plant go but he had to think of the well being of his son. And a plant that could eat someone fully grown was not something he wanted around a baby. Particularly as Allezander was already getting into the crawling around trying to eat everything he could find stage.

“There room for me too, darlin'?”

Ryan's eyes flicked open and he grinned up at Akmazian, “You're home!” He sat up, ignoring the irritated noise that Morpheus made.

Akmazian leaned over and kissed him, “You really think I'd miss this?” He asked in a teasing voice.

“Not for a second” Ryan replied, his grin widening, “I was concerned you wouldn't be back in time though. Everything's ready. Now we just need Allezander.”

“Our own family.” Akmazian settled on the bed and Ryan leaned into his arms. “I didn't think I'd ever get this.”

“You deserve it though. After everything we've both been through and survived... we now get to have a family of our own. And one day... one day you'll be seen as innocent and won't have to hide any more. We can go on vacation as a real family.”

“We could do that anyway. Just might be a little trickier.” Akmazian pointed out.

“Yeah, I think you'd be a bit conspicuous wearing your thick cloak on the beach.” Ryan sighed, looking across the room to the doorway, “Everything is going to change now.”

“But in a good way. This isn't a bad thing, Ry. This is amazing. This is us becoming parents and having our own son and a whole new life.”

“Sometimes I am... worried about how I'm going to deal with having Alle and working while you're away.”

“I won't be away often. I've been decreasing the amount of time I have to spend off the station. And trying to reduce my business dealings to have the decent investment but low risk ones being all I've got. So I can help even more with looking after Allezander.” Akmazian kissed the top of his head, “It'll be fine.”

Ryan looked up at him, “You have?”

“Did I not tell you?” Akmazian feigned innocence, “Must have slipped my mind.”

Ryan rolled his eyes and leaned back against his shoulder, “I'm glad. I've been worried about you a lot recently. All the time you've spent away.”

“Only so I can pass things on to those who are taking over. And obviously I've not told anyone why I'm stepping down from some of my roles. My contacts are all still there and open. Sometimes I'll have no choice but to go away. Some things I need to look after myself, especially if it involves any kind of lead about my innocence. But we're doin' okay Ryan.”

“We've exposed two people. Who knows how many more there are.” Ryan sighed, “Sometimes it just feels hopeless.”

“I know it does. But it isn't. We can do it, Ry. We can find a way to stop all this from happening. We can find out how to uncover and expose more of the conspiracy within the Alliance. And the more we do, the more likely it is that we can get me a fair trial. That we will be able to prove that I am an innocent man.”

“Have you been back to the Adrarian Sector?” Ryan asked after a few moments of silence.

“I've got all the charts. Everything that we had before. But it won't be enough without people on the inside who believe in us.”

“If my father was still alive, he'd help. I know he would.”

Akmazian nodded, “And it's a damn shame from that point of view. You've dealt with it... amazingly well, Ryan.”

“It's been hard. Sometimes I've... I've wanted to just give in. But he wouldn't want me to relapse. He would have wanted me to stay strong and look after myself. And if I had relapsed we wouldn't be able to have Alle. So...” he sighed.

“I'm still proud of you.” Akmazian murmured into his hair, “More than I can say. I will always be proud of you, Ryan.”

“I love you.” Ryan looked up at him and smiled softly.

“I love you too. And tomorrow we'll have a new little bundle of fur and energy to love. “Is Audrey all settled with Levi?”

“Yep. Hopefully she won't eat him in his sleep. Although that would solve a lot of the problems we've been having recently.”

“I honestly don't know how that man has lived so long.” Akmazian said. “Come on, it's late. And we've got a lot happenin' tomorrow. We should sleep.”

Ryan nodded, “I'm glad you're home. Whatever happens, we'll face it together, right?”

“Of course we will, darlin'. Wouldn't have it any other way.”

 

Ryan was nervous as he walked into the infirmary the next morning. He shouldn't be. He'd done this enough times. And yet this was different. This time when he left he wouldn't be alone. He'd be taking his baby with him. So he guessed he had some right to be nervous and yet he tried to calm himself.

“Ryan!” Jane grinned and waved him over as she saw him, “So today's the big day, huh?”

Ryan nodded, “Yep. Just got to sign off and then we're out of here.”

“You excited? I bet you're excited. I mean he's your own little baby to feed and bathe and look after even when he's really crying and you just want to go to sleep.”

“Yeah, thanks Jane.” Ryan cut her off. “How's everything going?”

“Good. Just got to finish up rounds and then I'll take you through the last of the paperwork. You can go through and sit with him if you like.”

“Thanks.” Ryan moved away, going into the ward where his young baby was sitting up in his cot. He remembered all the time over the last few months he'd spent in this room, cooing over Allezander and worrying that he wouldn't be able to take the young boy home. Allezander squealed happily as he saw Ryan, reaching out with both hands. His black claws had been trimmed and blunted but they could still hurt if you weren't careful. Ryan reached in and picked Alle up, bouncing him happily, “You're coming home today, Alle. Did you know that? I mean I've probably told you god knows how many times. I can't believe it's really happening.” Ryan sat down in his chair with Alle on his lap. “I'm going to do my best for you, little one. I'm going to be the best daddy I can possibly be.”

Allezander gurgled happily in response, his huge golden eyes fixed on Ryan's face. His blue fur stuck up on top of his head and Ryan reached with one hand to smooth it down.

“Your Papa and I are going to take such good care of you, Alle. I'm glad he found you when he did.” Ryan said honestly. He found he could always be honest around the young boy.

Allezander grizzled, struggling to get down. Ryan placed him on the floor in the middle of a large mat for the older babies to play on. Allezander grabbed a toy and started to shake it wildly, laughing in delight at the noise it made. Ryan and Allezander played together for a while, making noises and laughing.

“It's going to be weird you two not being around here.”

Jane's voice made Ryan spin around to face her, “I guess it would be.” He conceded. “But at least when I'm here I'm going to be actually working and not just playing with my son.”

“How's that going by the way? You got your work schedule sorted?”

“It's better than it was. And I've got a couple of weeks off as paternity leave now so I can get Alle used to us and his new home. It's going to be difficult but we'll manage somehow.”

“And is He home yet?” Jane asked.

“Last night. I'm really glad of it. Going home with Alle and him not being there would be... strange to say the least. So I'm glad that he gets to see his son straight away.”

“Have you figured all of that out yet?” Jane asked.

Ryan looked away, “It's been difficult. He hasn't been able to be on any of the documents so technically Alle is legally mine. And only mine. If he's proved innocent we're going to have to change that. But for now it's had to be that my next of kin is my mom. And that if anything happens to me, she's agreed to take Alle. I'm not happy with that but there's nothing else I can do. I've got my mom and I've got you guys. And I can't ask you to take Alle if anything happens to me.”

“It won't come to that.” Jane said, “It's good to be prepared but Alle will be all grown up soon enough. You're always going to be his dad.”

“I know. Thanks Jane. For everything you've done for all of us while we've been sorting this out. I'm looking forward to having him home.”

“The new quarters all working out? I heard you had an argument with the quartermaster about it?”

Ryan laughed, “He was all set to deny my request. As usual. I just pointed out that technically I wasn't asking for me, I was asking on behalf of the child I was adopting and was he really going to allow such a small, young boy to live in quarters that weren't suited to his needs. And then just added that I would go over his heads if he was going to deny it and that I'm sure the captain would be very interested to know that a member of his staff was denying the proper accommodation to people in need because of a personal grudge.”

“Wow. I bet you he was not happy about that.”

“He wasn't. But there was nothing else he could do. I wasn't joking when I said I'd go to the captain and he knew it. So he had to give me the empty family quarters that I knew he had before I went there. Actually, I had already spoken to the Captain about it because I was worried he would deny my request. Always good to be prepared, right?”

“Absolutely.” Jane grinned at him, “Come on, let's get the two of you out of here. I'm looking forward to coming to visit when I get a chance to.” She stopped with a gasp of excitement, “I could totally babysit if you need me to! That'd be so much fun!”

“Uh... sure?” Ryan said uncertainly. He scooped up Allezander and followed Jane to get the papers. With his son settled on his hip he signed off on the last forms. “This it?” He asked, looking at his friend.

Jane flicked through the papers and then nodded. “Yep, you're good to go. Wow. Look at you, Daddy Dalias.”

Ryan looked away, “This is... incredible.”

“Go on.” Jane said, practically pushing him towards the door, “Go take him go. Go on! Go!”

Ryan laughed but did as she said, picking up the bag of things he'd prepared and leaving the infirmary with his baby. His baby. His son. He couldn't believe it.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Keeping Allezander and Morpheus apart was harder than Ryan had thought it would be. Though not quite old enough to crawl and cause mischief, Allezander enjoyed throwing his toys as far as he could across the room. And Morpheus was a cat with a penchant for playing catch. The huge grey cat was always trying to return the discarded toys to the crying baby and couldn't understand why Ryan wouldn't let him. This only made Morpheus more determined to investigate the small furry bundle that his humans were so protective over.

He got his chance a couple of weeks after Allezander had been brought home. Usually Ryan and Akmazian were very careful about who went into the room and where Morpheus was at the time. Unfortunately sleep deprivation makes humans a lot slower than normal.

 

The snuffles and wails from the other room woke Morpheus first. It was late and the human was asleep. He stretched and pawed at Ryan's chest to try to wake him, something he'd had to do more and more recently. Morpheus was sure that if he was allowed to help his humans they would all get far more sleep than they did currently. And he was determined to prove it.

Ryan groaned as he woke, automatically reaching to the other side of the bed where Akmazian should be. Only to find the sheets cold and empty. He sighed and his eyes reluctantly flickered open. He hated the nights Akmazian was forced to stay in the cargo bay. They didn't happen often but with ambassadors from Bob 17 on board they couldn't take the chance of him being noticed in the habitat decks.

Morpheus meowed loudly to attract Ryan's attention and headbutted his cheek lightly. Despite being the size of an Earth tiger, Morpheus was a calm and gentle creature. Just most people didn't seem to be able to look past his large, muscular frame. He meowed again and jumped off the bed, pacing back and forth between the bed and the door that connected the two bedrooms.

He mewled in protest as Ryan's tried to use his leg to nudge him out of the way. He wasn't going to give up this time. Purring, he wound his way around Ryan's legs, the top of his tail flicking as Ryan reached for the door handle.

“No, Morpheus,” Ryan sighed, “You know you're not allowed in here.”

Morpheus meowed, his head tilted to one side and his ears pricked up with interest.

“No,” Ryan insisted, still trying to use his leg to block the gap as he opened the door and tried to slip inside.

Across the room, his comms unit beeped. Ryan hesitated. It was only for a moment but it was long enough for Morpheus to squeeze past him and into the bedroom. His ears tilted towards the sound as he followed Allezander's wails to the crib against the far wall. Rearing up on his hind legs, Morpheus took his first proper look at the tiny baby.

Allezander's wails subsided into unhappy sniffles briefly as he stared back at Morpheus, tears welling in his huge as before he started to cry again.

Morpheus looked over his shoulder to where Ryan stood frozen in the doorway before dropping back down onto all fours and padding over to a bag in the far corner. He searched through it and laid a diaper on Ryan's feet. When Ryan didn't seem to get the message, Morpheus went back to the crib, licking Allezander's head a couple of times before very carefully picking him up by the front of the shirt and carrying him to Ryan, meowing as loudly as he could.

Ryan stared for a long moment before crouching and taking Allezander from Morpheus. He also grabbed the lone diaper and took Allezander further into the room, bouncing him gently.

Morpheus purred softly as he followed, rearing up again to watch. He didn't react as Allezander reached out with one hand and grabbed his fur, mewling happily.

For a long moment Ryan watched the two of them interact, smiling softly. The comms unit in the other room beeped again. He finished changing Allezander's diaper before going to fetch it. “Hey.”

“Hey, darlin'. Were ya sleepin'?”

Ryan leaned on the door frame as Morpheus took Allezander back to the crib and placed him on the mattress before jumping in and curling up around the small baby. “No. Diaper duty.”

Akmazian let out a soft laugh, “And how's our boy?”

“He's having cuddles from our cat. They seem to be getting on really well.” Ryan smiled at the surprised noise Akmazian made, “I didn't mean to let him in. I'm blaming you for that by the way, when you called the first time I was trying to get into Alle's bedroom.”

“And what does Morphy think?”

“Well he's grooming Alle's tail and purring. I think he likes him. And Alle is cuddled into his fur and has gone back to sleep.”

“Wish I could be there to see it.”

“Hang on.” Ryan angled the comm to show Akmazian the scene in front of him. Morpheus was watching them, his tongue rasping down Allezander's tail.

“Now I wonder why the social workers didn't want them together. Look at them!”

“Because Morpheus is huge and looks kinda scary? And Alle is way smaller and a lot more vulnerable? Just to hazard a guess. I would have-” Ryan broke off, yawning.

“Go to bed, darlin'. I just wanted to check up on ya.”

Ryan left the door to the other room open as he retreated to his bed, taking the comm with him, “I miss you.”

“You too. I need to talk to you in the mornin'.”

“You're going away again.”

“Ry-” Akmazian sighed, “Yeah. Hopefully not for long. But I can't give up on this chance. This information seems good.”

“When do you need to leave?” Ryan put the comm on the pillow beside him, curling up under the covers.

“Early tomorrow. I'm doing prep. But I'll come see ya before I go. Promise.” Akmazian sighed, “I wish I could be with you, darlin'. I miss you so much.”

“At least I'm still on paternity leave I guess. Having to go to work as well might have killed me. A bit. You've got to come back soon. Alle seems really close to being able to crawl.”

“I wouldn't miss it for the world. Now go to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Night,” Ryan mumbled, “Love you.”

“Love you more. You and Alle.” Akmazian replied softly.

The comms unit clicked as the call was disconnected and Ryan fell asleep quickly, too tired to ruminate over his lover having to go again.

 


End file.
